But we don’t have.
Tag: Crimecraft
Crimecraft Shutting Down August 31
Mayn Games has announced that Crimecraft: Gang Wars will shut down on August 31. Crimecraft launched in August 2009 with a box price, subscription fee, and in-game sponsored ads (in the form of billboards for Best Buy, Napster, etc) to boot. Barely two months out, and following financial woes at Vogster Entertainment, Crimecraft dropped the mandatory subscription and box price, choosing instead to go for a unlimited trial with optional bonus subscriptions.
Despite a poor launch, Crimecraft was able to launch two expansions, Bleedout and Gang Wars, before Vogster handed the game over to Mayn Games in 2012. Since then the game has faded into relative obscurity, its charts showing a population plummeting to an average of about 10 players at any given time on Steam. Crimecraft’s population issues similarly weren’t helped by the game not being compatible with Windows 10.
For the past years, we did our best to support the game and make players to enjoy it. It was a very hard choice to make, but despite the overwhelming support of our loyal players, this was the way it had to go. We are grateful to all players for continued support of the game.
(Source: Mayn Games)
CrimeCraft Is Ridiculous #1: Bleedout
I told you I would one day start producing videos. The first MMO Fallout MMO video is for CrimeCraft, and it’s a doozy. I’ll let video me explain what the video is all about.
Crimecraft To Add Persistent Territory Control
I love Crimecraft, even if the Bleedout campaign mode often makes me want to punch a small kitten, but the trailer for the upcoming Gangwars update carries a lot more gore and dismembered body parts than I remember seeing in-game, to which I say: Kudos! Set following the Bleedout campaign, Gangwars sees the rise of player gangs out of their usual role of ragtag drug addled thugs shooting one another in the street, and takes the fight to a persistent territory control system.
You can find details on the expansion here. The update also brings with it new all sorts of new stuff. This almost makes me want to join a decent gang. Almost.
Bleedout Comic: More Novelty Than Resourceful
You may already be familiar with CrimeCraft (if not, I would start here), in which case Bleedout will also be a known name. Last year, Vogster teamed up with Mike Kennedy and a whole host of artists (Nathan Fox, Zach Howard, Sanford Greene, etc) to write and produce the cutscenes for the MMO shooter’s single-player campaign story. What you may not be as aware of is that Vogster paired up with Archaia Entertainment to turn the animated-comic style scenes into a hardcover book: Thus the CrimeCraft graphic novel was born.
Originally set for release way back in May, Bleedout didn’t ship until near late July due to unseen difficulties (printing issue, as I understand). As far as content goes, this is a direct reprint of the cutscenes in-game, without the motion or the gruff voice-over. Each chapter covers the equivalent chapter in the game, page for page recreated from the MMO. The art style stays true to the game: Dirt, trash, drugs, and violence litter the pages, characters that you can practically feel the slime seeping through the pages. As far as graphic content, there’s maybe one boob-shot and a character sticking the tip of his tongue with a needle. Nothing gut-wrenching.
I highly recommend playing Bleedout on CrimeCraft before you buy this, otherwise you will simply have no idea what is going on. As I already said, the comic mirrors the cutscenes, so each chapter in the book serves as an introduction to the various factions in and around Sunrise City. Looking at the overall story, to take the comic book without playing the game is more akin to buying a book and only reading the first two paragraphs of each chapter. The story will skip ahead too far, too fast for you to keep track of what is going on, who is who, and who you are supposed to hate and why.
CrimeCraft, as I’ve stated in the past, has a rich and deep story once you dive into it, one that is not done justice by this book. Bleedout, on the whole, serves as little more than a companion piece for the game. If you enjoyed Bleedout and you like comics, it’s worth the $10. Otherwise, if you have no interest in Crimecraft (in which case you wouldn’t be reading this), this comic isn’t for you.
Why Aren't You Playing: CrimeCraft
I’ve wanted to do a “Why Aren’t You Playing” on Crimecraft since I did the writeup on Gods & Heroes, and actually started writing this piece before Vogster decided to release the free version on Steam. As a result, I almost canned this article because odds are most of you have already given the game a go. Regardless, the show must go on.
Back in my day, Crimecraft required the purchase of a boxed copy and a monthly subscription fee. Since its small release, Vogster has rescinded the client purchase and relegated the subscription to an optional subscription that offers faster leveling at better chances at good loot, allowing anyone to get in for free. Aside from the single player story mode, all of the game modes are open to you as a free player. As far as offering content to free players, Vogster is one of the most giving. A player can, without making a single purchase, access almost all of what Crimecraft has to offer. You will find no restrictions on chat, experience gain, auction house use, gang membership/leadership, and you even have basic access to customer service and the daily tournaments.
Subscribing, which costs $4.99 or $9.99 based on your preferred tier, offers a faster method of leveling up, more loot and cash gained, a decreased cost to use the auction house/mail system, and expanded access to tournaments and customer service. You’ll also gain full access to the Bleedout campaign, a single-player story mode that offers little more than a back story to the game.
If you enjoy shooters, there’s really no reason not to at least give Crimecraft a try. The game features your basic vanilla game modes from deathmatch to team deathmatch, territory control, and a capture the flag style game where you have to steal money from your opponent’s vault and bring it back to your own. My favorite game mode involves two teams fighting over a single node that spawns randomly on the map. Once a team captures the node, they do not respawn until the other team destroys the node, making defense all the more difficult as your team slowly drops around you.
Adding to the strategy are a slew of abilities that you gain access to as you level up, ala Call of Duty, where you can take a very limited number of perks into a match, from health regeneration to limited cloaking, to proximity mines, and everything in between. You can also craft or purchase drugs that offer similar effects.
Why You Aren’t Playing CrimeCraft
If you aren’t playing right at the moment of this publishing, it may not be out of lack of trying. Ever since Crimecraft released for free on Steam, the game has undergone some heavy traffic resulting in server queues and downtime. Vogster have opened a second server, with more on the way.
You may also be wary of the element of “pay to win,” given Vogster sells weapons and armor on the cash shop. The easiest answer to that concern is that yes, there is an element of “pay to perform better,” but for a game that relies on fast reflexes, such a concept is lost on Crimecraft. You could have the best sniper in the game, but unless you can aim you won’t be getting any kills. So you do have access to some weapons that have better stats than those you can access in game, but those stats are rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, Crimecraft has something for competitive players and those that simply want to massacre mindless AI. The writing isn’t going to knock your socks off, but the Bleedout campaign is definitely worth a look to gather more context on the world that you inhabit. This article is being published on August 28th, 2011, I suggest you wait until Vogster adds more servers before you sign up, otherwise you’ll wind up waiting in a long queue line.
Why Aren’t You Playing: CrimeCraft
I’ve wanted to do a “Why Aren’t You Playing” on Crimecraft since I did the writeup on Gods & Heroes, and actually started writing this piece before Vogster decided to release the free version on Steam. As a result, I almost canned this article because odds are most of you have already given the game a go. Regardless, the show must go on.
Back in my day, Crimecraft required the purchase of a boxed copy and a monthly subscription fee. Since its small release, Vogster has rescinded the client purchase and relegated the subscription to an optional subscription that offers faster leveling at better chances at good loot, allowing anyone to get in for free. Aside from the single player story mode, all of the game modes are open to you as a free player. As far as offering content to free players, Vogster is one of the most giving. A player can, without making a single purchase, access almost all of what Crimecraft has to offer. You will find no restrictions on chat, experience gain, auction house use, gang membership/leadership, and you even have basic access to customer service and the daily tournaments.
Subscribing, which costs $4.99 or $9.99 based on your preferred tier, offers a faster method of leveling up, more loot and cash gained, a decreased cost to use the auction house/mail system, and expanded access to tournaments and customer service. You’ll also gain full access to the Bleedout campaign, a single-player story mode that offers little more than a back story to the game.
If you enjoy shooters, there’s really no reason not to at least give Crimecraft a try. The game features your basic vanilla game modes from deathmatch to team deathmatch, territory control, and a capture the flag style game where you have to steal money from your opponent’s vault and bring it back to your own. My favorite game mode involves two teams fighting over a single node that spawns randomly on the map. Once a team captures the node, they do not respawn until the other team destroys the node, making defense all the more difficult as your team slowly drops around you.
Adding to the strategy are a slew of abilities that you gain access to as you level up, ala Call of Duty, where you can take a very limited number of perks into a match, from health regeneration to limited cloaking, to proximity mines, and everything in between. You can also craft or purchase drugs that offer similar effects.
Why You Aren’t Playing CrimeCraft
If you aren’t playing right at the moment of this publishing, it may not be out of lack of trying. Ever since Crimecraft released for free on Steam, the game has undergone some heavy traffic resulting in server queues and downtime. Vogster have opened a second server, with more on the way.
You may also be wary of the element of “pay to win,” given Vogster sells weapons and armor on the cash shop. The easiest answer to that concern is that yes, there is an element of “pay to perform better,” but for a game that relies on fast reflexes, such a concept is lost on Crimecraft. You could have the best sniper in the game, but unless you can aim you won’t be getting any kills. So you do have access to some weapons that have better stats than those you can access in game, but those stats are rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, Crimecraft has something for competitive players and those that simply want to massacre mindless AI. The writing isn’t going to knock your socks off, but the Bleedout campaign is definitely worth a look to gather more context on the world that you inhabit. This article is being published on August 28th, 2011, I suggest you wait until Vogster adds more servers before you sign up, otherwise you’ll wind up waiting in a long queue line.
Crimecraft De-Mergifying Servers Tomorrow
No, de-mergify is not a word, but technically neither is Crimecraft, or Bleedout, or Vogster. Earlier this year, Vogster merged the two servers on Crimecraft down to one, resulting in a certain writer for MMO Fallout losing his low level character (pictured above). To bring in more players and increase the scope of the game, Vogster just recently launched the free client on Steam, offering players a bonus pack if they sign up before August 29th.
So tomorrow (the 25th), Vogster is set to open a second server to alleviate the population. Vogster is going to need a second briefcase for the lods of emone that will be pouring in.
Good luck to Vogster, the existing community, and those who are just now discovering Crimecraft.
Crimecraft Server Mergers/Euro Server
It’s been a while since I lasted talked Crimecraft, and the game has been going relatively active. Vogster completed the first season of Bleedout (the episodic quest series), and the hardcover edition of the Bleedout comic is coming soon, although Amazon emailed me to inform me that release was pushed back to July.
Well today’s occasion is some good news and some bad news mixed together. Foremost, the two North American servers are merging into one. Exeter will close down on May 23rd, and merge into Jericho. All characters above level 20 will be transferred immediately, however inactive characters under 20 (inactive being defined as not logged in in the past month) will be put on a separate database to be transferred over at request, and according to Vogster, “limited” and on a case by case basis.
Gang hideouts and clubs will not be transferred, but the gang name will be. Cash and gold bars (real world cash) spent on clubs and hideouts will be refunded. Not much information has been offered on the European server, other than:
This is also our first step toward opening a future European realm, but the immediate payoff for our users will be more available matches for characters of all levels and improved game performance.
More on Crimecraft as it appears. If you’d like to get into Crimecraft, submit a comment with your email address here. I’ll fire you off a “recruit-a-friend” email, that will allow you to sign up and get some benefits:
Complete the Tutorial: Upon completion of the tutorial, your friend will receive a Starter Pack that includes a 3-slot weapon, 20 GBs, a free 2-hour XP boost and a 5 pack of skill points. You will receive a free 2-hour XP boost and an Extra Character Slot allowing you to start a new character to play with your friend.
Purchase a GB Pack or Subscription: When your friend purchases a Gold Bar pack or a subscription, he will receive a free 24-hour XP boost and a 10 pack of Skill Points. You will receive 50GBs.
Complete the BleedOut Campaign: When your friend completes the BleedOut campaign, he receives 50GBs and one each of the 24-hour XP, Loot and Cash boosts and a free week of Deluxe membership (or an extra week of Deluxe or Premium membership if they are already members). You will receive 50 GBs and a free week of Deluxe membership (or an extra week of Deluxe or Premium if they are already a member).
Crimecraft: Of Course There's A Story!
I love Crimecraft. Not as much as I should, and certainly not as much as the folks over at Vogster have shown love to me (my last article was featured on Crimecraft’s Twitter) making me feel like a neglectful spouse. One thing Crimecraft has always been somewhat light on is plot, other than the basics of the government has been replaced by gangs and we’re in a post apocalyptic system after a war over limited resources, minus the zombies (for now).
Vogster announced Bleedout, in which they hope to expand upon the storyline. Coming tomorrow, Saturday the 4th at around 4pm Eastern, Vogster is launching episode 1 of an episodic series that will explain the storyline behind the game. Not unlike a television series, each episode releases once a week, free to VIP and premium players, and at a pretty low cost to free players (40 gold bars, or around two dollars). The first episode is free to all players.
There are a few restrictions, if what I understand is correct. First off, you can only complete one episode a week, so if you come in halfway through the season you’ll be on a lag from other players. Of course, Crimecraft is a cash shop system after all, and you’ll be able to buy a fast forward ticket allowing you to skip the seven day limit, although of course you won’t be able to play unreleased episodes (which should be a given, don’t ask me why it was deemed necessary to note).
Here is the trailer for Episode 1. Vogster has hired some major talent for this series, and has even opened a second server in anticipation for the rush of players, and Bleedout looks to be the start of a major investment in the game’s lore. The campaign missions are 100% PvE, as far as we know.
MMO Fallout 